From time-to-time, various individuals have a need to ascend and descend columnar structures such as telephone poles, trees, and the like. Linemen, for example, are frequently required to do so in the course of their job of repairing and installing equipment on poles carrying power or telephone lines, or associated equipment.
Sportsmen, especially deer hunters, make up another group that frequently wish to climb such structures. Deer hunters oftentimes stand and wait for their quarry, as opposed to stalking it, and many of the hunters who use the "stand" approach to hunting, frequently those who hunt with bow and arrow, prefer to locate a supporting platform, or stand, in the top of a tree, preferably in the vicinity of a trail or other area known to be frequented by deer. Besides providing a wide range of vision and a clearer field of view to the hunter, deer are unaccustomed to viewing the tops of trees for possible sources of danger; consequently, a hunter located therein is oftentimes able to enjoy closer shooting opportunities than might otherwise be possible.
While hunting from trees provides the advantages described, it also has the disadvantage of requiring the hunter to climb to the top of a tree of choice, frequently an arduous and potentially hazardous activity. These difficulties have long been recognized, and a number of devices have been proposed to eliminate them. Among such devices, for example, is a bendable, semicircular device with handles projecting from the two ends thereof. The device is fitted with inwardly projecting spikes which can be positioned about a tree and thrust inwardly, temporarily fastening the device to the tree, thus providing a handhold for the climber while his legs, which are pressed about the tree, are repositioned upwardly while climbing, or downwardly during the process of descent. Although effective, the device entails considerable physical effort, and is relatively dangerous since the climber is not securely fastened to the tree.
Another device for climbing involves the use of a rectangularly shaped frame-like structure which can be assembled loosely about the tree to be climbed. When angled downwardly from the horizontal, the device provides sufficient friction or "purchase" against the tree to support a climber holding onto the lower end of the structure, again allowing repositioning of the climber's legs about the tree. As in the case of the first-described device, the latter device also exposes a user to danger, since he is not fastened to the tree, and as in the case of the previous device, its use is physically demanding.
A variety of other climbing devices, and safety harnesses associated therewith, have also been proposed, but they are frequently complicated, difficult to use, or suffer from other disadvantages.